One of the tasks that our clinic treasures is the care of carers. WE consider this the 7th specialty service of our clinic. This means the care of doctors, therapists, nurses and all carers. When a doctor or nurse comes to our clinic , we offer them the privilege to become patient . I believe this is the greatest privilege we can give a carer — that when they come to us , we care for them the way we care for our patients. Often, when doctors consult they are expected to know what to do, and thus end up having to doctor themselves. This can become very tiring and definitely not therapeutic. The privilege to become a patient, means one can let go, trust and entrust, and be cared for –this can be truly liberating and rejuvenating. But this may be difficult for most doctors, especially if one knows that one is highly competent and an expert in the field. Or , it can be humbling and embarrassing to others. This then becomes part of the process, to handhold until the shift towards accepting vulnerability can take its rightful place.
One of the blessings we have received is when we were called to care for a famous oncologist who was sick of breast cancer with bone metastasis. All that mainstream medicine could offer had been given already. The patient herself looked for an alternative doctor because she still wanted to live. As we knelt beside her bed to examine her and care for her, I felt a deep reverence for a colleague who humbly accepted the need to be helped.
As members of the community of the healing profession, we have the oath to care for one another. Its nice if we can help each other in wellness , and in illness. Its nice if every week, we can find ourselves in a space where we can also be given rejuvenating care, without having to wait for a time when we are already very sick. We can do that to one another. We just have to remove our white coats, accept the vulnerability, and entrust ourselves.
I am sure our patients will be happy to know that we also take care of ourselves, of each other and become privileged patients once in a while.
